Monthly Archives: June 2014

If you looked at Google as a company it was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin back in 1998, you wouldn’t recognize it today. What started out as a relatively simple search engine has grown into an Internet empire with a range of attractive products and smart yet approachable solutions. With Google’s ever-expanding ecosystem and software fit enough to compete with Microsoft and Apple, it was only a matter of time before Google would come up with its own certification program. And the time has come: meet Google Apps Certification Program.

The program emerged as a result of Google’s push for their Google Apps for Business offering. This package has become an increasingly popular solution chosen by businesses worldwide. The technologies like Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, and the video conference app Hangouts make up a serious competition for Microsoft’s solutions for businesses. And yes, Google Docs and Google Drive easily beat Office 365.

To support organizations that have adopted Google Apps for Business, the company has created its certification program. It primarily targets IT professionals who sell, deploy, administer and support Google Apps for Business packages, which are tailor-made solutions made up of Google technologies such as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Hangouts and others.) Let’s explore Google Apps Certification Program. It consists of 3 paths:

Google Certified Sales Specialist

Google Certified Deployment Specialist

Google Certified Administrator

Let’s take a closer look at these credentials.

The Google Apps Certified Sales Specialist credential validates the expertise of sales professionals at Google partner companies who demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to sell Google Apps for Business. Candidates interested in this certification should have at least of six months experience selling Google Apps for Business, having closed two or more small, mid-market, or enterprise business deals, before attempting to pass this exam.

The Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialist credential certifies IT professionals possessing the fundamental skills and knowledge required to deploy, configure, and migrate to Google Apps for Business and Education.

As a prerequisite to this credential, candidates need to have at least 3-6 years of professional IT experience, and complete at least 3 Google Apps for Business deployments. The deployments should require some technical complexity and significant data integration and migration work. Candidates should have sufficient experience using Google Apps Directory Sync and server side migration tools, such as Google Apps Migration for Microsoft Exchange®. Details are provided in the Google Apps Certified Deployment Specialist study guide.

The Google Apps Certified Administrator credential targets administrators capable of managing a Google Apps domain. During the exam, candidates have to configure an exam domain and solve typical problems they will encounter as a Google Apps Administrator – this is fully done in the Google Apps Admin console.

Google recommends that a candidate have at least months experience managing a Google Apps domain with a minimum of 50 users before attempting to pass this exam.

Google Apps Exams: Technical Details:

Taking a Google Apps exam will be a very different experience compared to most traditional IT certification exams. Google administers its exams via web-based testing, using the Kryterion testing and web-cam proctoring system. This is an advanced combination of software and a particular web cam to provide a controlled home-based testing environment. A candidate must purchase the Kryterion web camera ($45) in addition to paying the exam fee ($100), but the camera can be used for multiple Apps exams. (you won’t need the camera for The Certified Administrator exam – keep reading for details). All Google Apps certification exams can be taken on both PC and Mac.

The Certified Sales Specialist exam consists of 45-to-55 multiple-choice, multiple-answer and matching questions. Candidates have two hours to complete the exam. The Certified Deployment Specialist exam is made up of 60-to-65 questions, and has a 2.5 hour time limit. With both exams, there is no penalty for incorrect answers, and results are provided immediately following completion of the exam.

For those whose first language isn’t English, the Certified Sales Specialist and Certified Deployment Specialist exams are also available in Japanese, Spanish (Latin American), and Portuguese.

The Certified Administrator exam, however, is a very different exam. The special Kryterion web cam is not required for this exam – you’ll just need to use a computer equipped with any functional web cam. After registering for the exam, a unique Google Apps domain is created for the candidate, who is notified via e-mail when the domain is ready for use.

After being notified, candidates have three days in which to initiate the Certified Administrator exam, and two hours to complete the exam once it has begun. Within a couple of minutes after submitting the exam domain for grading, a pass/fail grade is shown. The Certified Administrator exam is only available in English at this time.

Based on the feedback and criticism coming from candidates, certification holders and employers, Microsoft made a decision to change the score report. With the main goal of improving the reports, the company is about to change the anchors on the bar chart to reflect the percent of points earned in each functional group, a comparison of the test taker’s performance to those who have taken the exam in the last 6-12 months, more detailed information about available learning resources, and, for those who fail, a list of the three skills (objectives) that by practicing should have the most effect on the test taker’s overall performance on the exam.

The changes are already generated as part of Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, and other popular Microsoft exams, and will be introduced to more and more over time.

As Red Hat released its latest Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 earlier this month, the company now updates its training and certification materials relevant to the new RHEL7. So, if you were about to get your Linux Enterprise credential, prepare for surprises. Yet, before we proceed, let’s take a closer look at the main features of RHEL7.

The company claims that the new version of Linux provides users with better reliability, scalability and performance. The system offers a number of new features that equip architects, system administrators, and developers with the resources necessary to innovate and manage more efficiently. Read more about Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 on the vendor’s website.

In line with the RHEL7 news, Redhat has just updated a number of courses (see below) and 2 related exams: Red Hat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) Exam (EX200) and Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) Exam (EX300).

In line with the new RHEL7 rollout, Redhat has updated the following courses:

Red Hat System Administration I (RH124)

Red Hat System Administration II (RH134)

RHCSA Rapid Track Course (RH199)

Red Hat System Administration III (RH254)

RHCE Certification Lab (RH299)

The courses continue to feature a hands-on, lab-based environment to provide IT professionals with the skill-sets they need to implement and maintain Linux deployments. The new curriculum places greater emphasis on enterprise administration skills including command line administration, shell scripting, diagnostics and troubleshooting. The courses will be available via traditional classrooms, live virtual training, online, or on-site at customers locations for private team training.

Still looking for a perfect information security and data protection certification? Now you’ve got one more to choose from as Veeam Software, a Swiss IT company, has just announced the launch of their brand new certification program: VMCE.

Standing for Veeam Certified Engineer, VMCE was created with the goal of raising data protection standards around the world. Based in Baar, Switzerland, with a number of offices around the globe, Veeam Software specializes in backup, disaster recovery and virtualization software. The company’s first certification program has been developed and implemented in close cooperation with Pearson Vue, where the VMCE exam can be taken.

According to Veeam, the new credential validates the holders’ deep technical knowledge necessary to effectively design, implement, optimize and troubleshoot Veeam in production environments. Veeam’s ProPartner Program is designed to create new opportunities for partners that accelerate growth and profitability by providing tools, support, training and this new VMCE certification program. Veeam’s aim is to empower their partners to become trusted advisors to customers and gain a long-term advantage in the modern data center market.

Are you ready to invest?

Yet, VMCE may not become a rival for the certifications we have gotten so used to. To become a VMCE, candidates must attend a VMCE technical training course at one of Veeam’s Authorized Training Centers and pass with a score of at least 70%. The 3-day course costs $3000 – which we believe may stop many candidates. Veeam emphasizes that partners can develop a discount structure when purchasing seats in various classes, however, don’t expect the VMCE to be cheap. Veeam calls this an ‘investment’, making clear that the certification targets serious candidates, interested in their long-term and successful career with Veeam, hence ready to make this investment.

The syllabus of the VMCE training course covers pretty much everything these is to know on the topic. Here it is:

With virtualization being one of those hot and sought-after areas, getting some high-level training never hurts, right? So if you are looking for some training looking to get trained on the latest versions of VMware’s Horizon 6 (also called Horizon View) and Mirage virtualization software products, VMware now gives it for FREE!

For those who aren’t in the know, Horizon 6, which arrived earlier this year, and Mirage (the current iteration of which is Version 5), are both desktop virtualization products. VMware offers free online class, complemented by a detailed course outline, also available on the VMware website.

This year, PMI launches a new certification that specifically targets business analysts: The PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA). With the pilot phase of the project being on now, you may have a chance to become one of the first PMP-PBA holders in the world. So is this credential right for you?

More on Business Analysis

What is business analysis and what’s the job of a business analyst? PMI defines the business analyst’s work as “the evaluation of an organization’s needs — followed by the identification and management of requirements — to arrive at a solution.” In short, it is the discipline of working with stakeholders to “define an organization’s requirements in order to shape the output of projects and ensure they deliver the expected business benefit.”

To be eligible for the PMI-PBA, you don’t have to have the formal title of Business Analyst, but sufficient professional experience is a must. According to PMI, the certification was designed to get staff up to speed on the fine art of business analysis, which boils down to evaluating the business needs of an organization and then quantifying and managing those needs, or “requirements.” In other words, you need sufficient professional experience and background to identify the measures an organization must put in place to succeed, and then manage the deployment of those measures.

PMI Eligibility Overview

Requirement

Option 1

Option 2

Education level

High school diploma, associate’s degree or global equivalent

Bachelor’s degree or global equivalent

Minimum business analysis experience

Five years (7,500 hours) within the past eight consecutive years

Three years (4,500 hours) within the past eight consecutive years

Project experience

2,000 hours working on project teams within the past eight consecutive years*

2,000 hours working on project teams within the past eight consecutive years*

Business analysis education (contact hours)

25 hours during pilot; 35 hours post pilot**

25 hours during pilot; 35 hours post pilot**

Certification Eligibility and Process

To become PMI-PBA, you need to take the following steps, which follow a process very similar to other PMI certifications’.

Fill out and submit your application

Wait for review of your application

If audited* fulfill audit requirements

Pay fees if application passes

Schedule exam

Pass exam

Re-certify on CCR after three years

*PMI audits are usually random, and if you’re audited, you must present a higher level of detail related to experience. Candidates are given 90 days to fulfill the audit requirements, and PMI reviews audit materials in 5 – 7 days.

PMI-PBA Pilot Phase

The pilot phase of the certification started on May 12, and applications are now accepted. The exam for the pilot will run through August 4. According to PMI,it takes five days for an electronic application to be reviewed, so to secure their opportunity to take the exam during the pilot, candidates need to have submitted their applications by July 28. A paper application can take up to two weeks, so it must be in by July 14 – which means you have 4 weeks left!(these timelines assume that you won’t be audited). The good news about the pilot exam is that candidates who take it, will be refunded 20% of their exam fees – which is important given the cost of PMI’s exams and preparation materials.

Each domain is broken down into tasks and topics, all available in the outline. Holders of PMI credentials we have talked to about the outline and the exam itself, agree that the exam won’t be as simple as its materials may look. Similar to the PMP exam, where many candidates claim the materials to be ‘common knowledge’ as they look at exam goals and outlines and get seriously disappointed, the PBA exam is unlikely to be a piece of cake.

Nevertheless, taking this career step may be a viable option for many business analysts. We’ll have to wait and see whether the glory of the new PMI-PBA surpasses the one of the PMP, but the newness of the credential certainly gives it some added value. Therefore, if you work in the industry and feel confident enough to take the exam, why not jump on the chance of saving 20% and being the first PMI certified Business Analyst this summer? Do tell us what you think!

Have you heard that Cisco changes its CCIE and CCDE exam policy? If you are planning to take or re-take CCIE or CCDE exams – written or lab- any time soon, be sure to keep the changes in mind. This especially concerns the cases of retakes (when you initially fail your exam). While we all hope to pass from the first try, the following information is definitely worth keeping in the back of your head.

Written Exam: Retakes

There is no limit to the number of attempts that can be made on the written exam, but it is compulsory to wait at least 5 days between exam attempts. Once you pass a particular written exam, you cannot retake it for 180 days (not that many candidates would choose to do it anyways, but sometimes, in light of recertification or the need to improve the score, some people do that).

Starting August 2, 2014, the following Cisco policy changes come into effect:

Candidates who fail any CCIE or CCDE written exam must wait for a period of 15 calendar days, beginning the day after the failed attempt, before retaking the same exam.

Candidates may attempt any CCIE or CCDE written exam up to four times per rolling calendar year. Candidates cannot retake the same written exam more than four times per rolling calendar year regardless of passing or failing the exam.

All candidates must wait 30 days between CCIE lab attempts. Please note that the 30-day period starts from the day after a failed lab exam.

Candidates who do not pass the CCDE practical exam can retake it during the next scheduled exam administration.

Effective August 2, 2014, the following policy changes will be enforced:

Candidates who fail any CCIE lab exam on the first attempt must wait for a period of 30 calendar days before scheduling a second attempt at the same lab exam.

Candidates who fail the second attempt at any CCIE lab exam must wait for a period of 90 calendar days before scheduling any further attempts. The same wait time will be applied to subsequent attempts until the fifth attempt.

Candidates who fail a fifth attempt at any CCIE lab exam must wait for a period of 180 calendar days before scheduling any further attempts.
NOTE: There is no wait time between a passed qualification written exam and the first lab or practical exam attempt. However, candidates must make an initial attempt at the CCIE lab exam or CCDE practical exam within 18 months of passing the CCIE or CCDE written exam.

Apple strives to make mobile development for iOS cool again as the company has recently previewed its new iOS 8, expected to be out this fall. And while regular users will have to wait until the release, developers have already gotten their hands on the latest and newest mobile operating system from Apple.

So far, everyone’s been raving about the new possibilities of iOS 8, especially the functionality it allows for developers in terms on bringing in advanced app features, and added functionality between the device hardware and third party applications. So, if you are contemplating your mobile development career path, the new iOS is definitely worth taking a closer look. Besides the strong brand, marketing and everything Apple has to offer, the new operating system may just be more fun to work with!

What makes the new iOS 8 so attractive for developers?

Presented at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2014 (WWDC 2014), the new iOS 8 has left developers raving about its advanced flexibility and the possibilities it allows for the apps. For the first time ever, Apple welcomes third-party onscreen keyboards. iOS 8 also lets widgets into the notification center, and gives media apps greater access to the device’s camera. Apple has even come up with its own programming language, Swift, developed for Cocoa and Cocoa Touch, which tremendously expands the horizon for iOS developers, allowing for faster app performance and more complex features.

Apple has also introduced HomeKit and HealthKit — APIs that will better work with home automation devices and with health and fitness trackers.

So what does it mean? Obviously Apple is trying to fight Android as the most popular mobile operating system that offers excellent flexibility. And, while the map of Android certifications for developers remains unchanged , we expect the updates to certification programs that touch iOS development.

Should I get certified for iOS development this summer or should I wait for the updated credentials to be released?

If you’ve been planning to obtain your credential this summer, we frankly see no point in waiting. Mobile app development is an exciting career, with professionals reaping some $100,000 salaries in the United States. We recommend that you explore CompTIA’s Mobility+ and Mobile App Security+ credentials, as well as IBM’s mobile development certification. All of them have options for Android and iOS developers, so you can choose whatever platform you want to focus on. And do keep your eyes peeled for new Apple certifications, since we expect the new ones to come out by the end of the year.

In case you’re still unclear about what Red Hat OpenStack is about, the credential of Red Hat Certified System Administrator in Red Hat OpenStack means that the professional processes the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed to create, configure, and manage private clouds using Red Hat Enterprise Linux® OpenStack® Platform., and is also able to perform the following processes:

Install and configure Red Hat Enterprise Linux OpenStack Platform.

Manage users, projects, flavors, and rules.

Configure and manage images.

Add compute nodes.

Manage storage using Swift and Cinder.

And although we avoid posting purely marketing materials here, this video from Red Hat is a good example of a proper marketing done to a truly industry leading certification program. So, if you consider building your career around Linux, we highly recommend that you watch the video below: